The IRISH RUGBY thread

[ONeill]

Possession. Last chance now. 76 mins.

[ONeill]

Feck it. Why'd he step in?

[imtommygunn]

Balls to that.

Guys with no confidence in their kickers and that's why they didn't score a try at the end.

Sexton just can't be relied on in these games it seems.

[Capt Pat]

Poor performance from Ireland. Wales were better on the day. Paddy Wallace messed up at the end.

[GalwayBayBoy]

Utterly brainless rugby from both sides. Touchjudge should definitely get demoted for making such a horrendous error. He turned his back to the ball once it went into the stands and then bluffed to the ref when asked was it the correct ball. Real amateur hour stuff. Paddy Wallace then should have passed to Earls for the guaranteed try at the very end. Take the points of offer and worry about the kick after. Add in Sexton missing a penalty from nearly straight in front of the posts and you've got a 13 point turnaround there.

[screenexile]

All this talk of having 2 quality flyhalves and today we didn't even have feckin 1!!

[Rocky Mc Guigan]

Must be first time BBC1 and BBC 2 showed Dad's Army on both channels at same time on a Saturday night

[Dinny Breen]

I think Kidney will use the awful decision from the touch judge as a means of deflection, unfortunately we are now stuck with the man who learned nothing from the last years of the EOS debacle.

Forget about singling out players O'Gara, Wallace, Sexton, Fitzgearld whoever, the collective team effort was not good enough and our displays are reflecting poor coaching. The coaches decide this awful game plan of kicking the ball into the oppo half hoping they'll run it back and we'll force the error, penalty etc. Wales simply countered it by doing the same hence you ended up with an awful game played by two sides worried about making mistakes rather than expressing themselves. Wales and Ireland refelected the current nature of their set-ups where the rugby is coached out of them.

Ireland will not progess where it's harder to get into the squad than get out it.

I want Ireland to play with passion, heads up, attacking rugby and not the muck be served up by Kidney and his coaches. Tear up the game plan, freshen up the starting XV because as it stands we are nothing heading into a World Cup.

[Main Street]

Brilliant last 10 minutes at Rome. What a day for Italian rugby fans.

[Aaron Boone]

Kidney touchy & prickly in RTE interview after.

[gallsman]

Sexton - does not and will never have the quality required in these games. O'Gara was poor today. He'd still have put that penalty over.

Wallace - twice in two visits to Cardiff he's done his best to f**k things up!

Ball decision - crap, but shouldn't mask how poor Ireland were.

[muppet]

The Sexton/O'Gara problem was turned from a healthy one into a disaster by playing them the wrong way around. Start Sexton and then bring O'Gara on to close it out, not the other way round.

As for the rest people will talk about changes but there are only really a few sore thumbs. D'Arcy did ok but he has had a bad Championship and we are getting nothing from our centre partnership in attack. Time to try Bowe at 13, with Drico moving to 12 or play them as left and right. Fitzgerald needs a move to the wing or a break.

Stringer made a few too many mistakes so Reddan should become number one ulthough Kidney will pick  O'Leary which will stop any back play (remember Sexton usually is judged on O'Leary's service).

Ferris will come in when fit probably for Wallace but we have too many similar players here even if they are great ball-carriers. Front row probably deserves to stick as a unit as at least they are improving.

[Estimator]

O'Leary Out
O'Leary will not feature against England, with Reddan the only other injury worry.

[muppet]

Twitter: Rugby team selection ; Sexton in at out half, in place of O Gara. Earls to fullback in place of Fitzgerald. Trimble to start on the wing.

[Groucho]

Twitter: Rugby team selection ; Sexton in at out half, in place of O Gara. Earls to fullback in place of Fitzgerald. Trimble to start on the wing.

England centres will run right through him